NHH opens Cough, Cold and COVID Assessment Centre

One of the problems we have when we get what seems to be a cold, is knowing if it’s COVID or flu or just a cold. To help with this, the Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) has expanded the services at the portable trailer immediately outside the NHH Emergency Department although, no doubt because they expect a rush, you need to make an appointment.  So if you are experiencing “worsening cough, cold, earaches, sore throats, congestion and fever” – that is maybe Flu or Covid or even RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) – then call and ask for help diagnosing. If needed you can then make an appointment to see a clinician (often on the same day) and perhaps get a “COVID-19 PCR… Read complete articleNHH opens Cough, Cold and COVID Assessment Centre

Covid and Flu Update for Cobourg

Covid is mostly a problem for seniors – in Cobourg, 65% of Covid Deaths have been for people aged 80 or more and there have been no Covid Deaths for anyone younger than 39.  Since Covid statistics were first collected, in Cobourg, there have been 1303 confirmed Covid cases; 53 of these were hospitalized and there have been 12 Covid deaths in Cobourg.  Covid cases are now at a steady rate: according to sewage measurements which started in 2022, Covid peaked in April and August in Cobourg.  But now there is another problem and it’s primarily with flu like and respiratory diseases amongst young children.  In the HKPR Health region, from 28 August to 15 November, 15% of Visits to… Read complete articleCovid and Flu Update for Cobourg

Covid-19 Outbreak at Hospital

Today Northumberland Hills Hospital said that “The number of admitted patients at Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) continues to rise as case counts increase in the region.”  Susan Walsh, President and CEO of NHH said: “Sadly, COVID-19 has not gone away.”  The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit (HKPRDHU) keeps track of outbreaks in high risk settings and one of the 11 Outbreaks in the region is NHH. Three of the Outbreaks are in Cobourg – see list below.  According to HKPR, the count of cases in Cobourg is 8 but the Hospital says that “We currently have eleven admitted patients confirmed positive for COVID-19. Some are here because of COVID-19, some came to hospital for other reasons but were found… Read complete articleCovid-19 Outbreak at Hospital

Covid-19 Update – July 2022

Life seems almost back to normal but it’s not quite – Covid is still with us.  At a media briefing today, Dr. Natalie Bocking of the HKPR Health Unit provided an update.  We are now in a seventh wave or a third Omicron wave – caused by the BA-5 variant.  As usually the case with new variants, it’s more infectious and more easily transmissible but does not cause worse symptoms.  Cases in our area are not (yet) at previous levels but we need to be cautious – especially if susceptible such as older or with an immune condition.  Dr. Bocking recommends vaccination protection, staying home if sick (at all), avoiding large indoor gatherings and use rapid testing to check.  However,… Read complete articleCovid-19 Update – July 2022

Covid-19 April Update

The good news is that most Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted; the bad news is that the virus is not going away so as Dr. Natalie Bocking, the HKPR Medical officer of Health put it, we have to learn to live “alongside” it.  At a regular briefing to the media on April 6, Dr. Bocking was not alarmist but pointed to a resurgence of cases in the District.  She attributed this to measures being lifted and the new BA-2 variant which spreads even more easily and is becoming dominant.  The goal remains “to avoid it being a big strain on our health system” so they can do their regular job of looking after other health issues. Also announced yesterday was… Read complete articleCovid-19 April Update

HKPR DHU Provides Video Explaining Covid Statistics

Many Canadians have trouble understanding some of the statistics available on hospitalization of people with Covid-19. One source of confusion is that the number of vaccinated people in Hospital is higher than the number not vaccinated. Without thinking it through, this appears to mean that vaccination does not help but in fact, the reverse is true. But our local District Health Unit (Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge DHU) has a responsibility to educate so they are promoting a video produced by the Eastern Ontario DHU which explains this (see below). Unfortunately, anti-Vaxers incorrectly take this statistic as evidence to support their objection – they are effectively saying that they do not believe medical experts. If they act on their belief, they… Read complete articleHKPR DHU Provides Video Explaining Covid Statistics

Covid-19 Update – January 2022

Although Ontario is scheduled to lift some restrictions at the end of the month, by no means are we out of the woods.  The good news is that we are past the peak that occurred around the end of December; the bad news is that cases have plateaued at a high rate – for Northumberland that’s around an average of 30 new cases per day (see graph below).  Worse, that’s an underestimate – the real number is higher.  That’s because it only measures the results of PCR testing.  Many Omicron cases do not get recorded in official figures.  Because of this, the HKPR DHU Medical Officer of Health Dr. Bocking, says that we should watch other indicators like ICU admissions,… Read complete articleCovid-19 Update – January 2022

The Town and Others Add More Restrictions

The Province recently mandated additional restrictions because of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 Virus but the Town, the Capitol Theatre and the Loft have gone further.  The Town has asked most of their workforce to go back to working from home and has shut Town buildings – except the CCC – effective Monday December 20.  They also cancelled the New Year’s celebrations and the Levee.  The Capitol has cancelled all remaining performances in 2021 and the Loft has imposed a 50% capacity restriction.  None of these restrictions were mandated by the Province [Update – maybe they were but initially missed] but I sense that people are getting nervous.  You can get details on all these changes in my web… Read complete articleThe Town and Others Add More Restrictions

Update on Covid-19 – 15 December 2021

The Medical Officer of Health for our region (HKPR  DHU) Dr. Natalie Bocking, today provided a comprehensive update on what’s happening locally with the pandemic – and there is a lot happening. It looks like we got our first case of the Omicron variant although that still needs to be confirmed – this variant is expected to be dominant before too long. The bad news is that cases are increasing with the cases per 100,000 population at around 36 compared to around 5 a few weeks ago. The good news is that we are not nearly as bad as other regions – for example Kingston is around 300 per 100,000 population. A lot of the cases are younger people with… Read complete articleUpdate on Covid-19 – 15 December 2021

Once Again CCC to Host Vaccination Clinic

At Monday’s regular Council meeting, Council agreed to allow the Cobourg Community Centre (CCC) to be used as a vaccination clinic from November 5 to March 31, 2022. The HKPR District Health Unit expects that in the next week or so, two groups will be authorized for Vaccination: 1) third (booster) shots for those over 70 and Health Care workers and 2) young children.  For Northumberland alone, there are 11,000 in the first group and 5,000 in the second.  It’s hoped that these would be vaccinated before the end of the year – people in the first group already double vaccinated would be eligible 6 months after their second shot.  Vaccinations would be by appointments managed by the Provincial portal… Read complete articleOnce Again CCC to Host Vaccination Clinic